" Young Master Wu, the medicine is ready." Qing He approached, carrying the bowl of medicine.
"Thank you, young lady." Wu Shaoyang took the drink and downed it in one gulp. He looked up and saw Xiao Huzi grinning at him. "What are you looking at me for?"
Isn't it bitter?
"It's tough, but I want to earn money quickly so I can go..." He felt it wasn't good to say these things to a child, so he swallowed the word "death" and handed the empty bowl back to Qing He.
Thank you, young lady.
" Young Master Wu, you're too kind."
Qing He carried the bowl back to the kitchen, where two old women were peeking out and whispering, "She doesn't seem sick, so why does she keep threatening to kill herself?"
Qing He quickly made a shushing gesture and waved for them to go about their business.
Seeing that Xiao Huzi was holding a calligraphy brush with the ink almost dried up, Wu Shaoyang kindly reminded him, "You got that question wrong."
"Huh?? Is it the one that makes lanterns?"
Wu Shaoyang nodded, Xiao Huzi looked at Meng Anci, "Brother Anci, did I miscalculate?"
Meng Anci nodded.
Xiao Huzi's eyes were filled with disbelief, "Brother Anci... you're so mean, watch out..."
He Meng Anci, slamming him down so hard he almost suffocated.
Meng Anci helped Xiao Huzi up and laughed, "Didn't you say it yourself? You should make your own decisions."
Xiao Huzi was speechless for a moment, his eyes wide, his mouth agape, stammering, "I... I..." Finally, he stomped his foot in anger, "Take this..."
He stood up again, leaped, and lunged at Meng Anci, only to be caught in a tight embrace by Meng Anci. "I surrender... please spare my life, great hero..."
Xiao Huzi glanced sideways at Meng Anci, snorted heavily, and slumped back onto the table, starting to calculate again on his fingers.
Why did he come to the Anzhi Hall? It's because he heard that Brother Anci was off today and wanted to borrow his clever brain!
How outrageous... If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have spent all three coins I earned from selling cicada shells on candy yesterday!
No, I need to think of a new way to make money.
Or... how about helping Third Uncle pour rouge? I heard that spilling a jar costs twenty coins, too risky. Or maybe help watch the goods at the docks? But I almost got kidnapped by human traffickers last time.
Being a child is so hard; every path is blocked!
"Sigh..." Xiao Huzi and the person next to him sighed at the same time. He turned to look at them and said, "I got the question wrong, why are you sighing?"
Wu Shaoyang glanced at the sky. "My mother wants me to go and have a match made; the time is almost here."
"You don't want to go?" Xiao Huzi held the brush, dipped it in ink, wrote "twenty-three" after the question, then wiped his nose and moved on to the next question.
Wu Shaoyang gave a soft "hmm," and Xiao Huzi paused, his eyes darting around. "Give me ten coins, and I'll help you come up with an idea."
Wu Shaoyang was taken aback. "Are you robbing me?"
Meng Anci couldn't help but laugh out loud. Xiao Huzi sternly said, "Brother Anci, you're not allowed to laugh," and then looked at Wu Shaoyang triumphantly.
"I'm experienced in dealing with parents... Ten coins, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied with both sides."
"Oh... tell me about it."
Xiao Huzi stretched out his hand, "Pay first."
Wu Shaoyang hesitated for a moment, then pulled out ten coins. Sigh... he was one step closer to death.
Xiao Huzi put away the money, lowered his voice mysteriously, and said, "I'll teach you a secret trick! Watch closely..." He made an exaggerated face by rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue.
He covered his chest with his small hand and said earnestly to Wu Shaoyang, "Like this, clutch your chest, cry out 'Ouch!' and lie on the ground, your hands and feet twitching at the same time, and foaming at the mouth. Just pretend it's with the rice porridge you drank this morning."
Wu Shaoyang was stunned. "And then?"
"And then?" Xiao Huzi's eyes widened. "You didn't even understand that, and then you started to sob... while you were sobbing, you reached for the girl's skirt."
Don't actually touch it, just scare it a little. Say a few nonsensical things, like, "Wife, save me, I can't take it anymore."
Wu Shaoyang was stunned. "This... this can work?"
"Why not?" Xiao Huzi patted his chest and said with an air of experience, "My neighbor, Xiao Pang, used this trick on me and didn't do his homework for two days."
"As long as you act convincingly enough, I guarantee that no matchmaker will dare to step foot in your house for the next three years."
Ten coins for three years' guarantee— Wu Shaoyang was momentarily at a loss for whether to laugh or cry, and deliberately teased, "But I don't know how..."
Xiao Huzi stared at him in shock. He couldn't even get it right after being taught step by step. Earning those ten coins was really hard! If it weren't for the fact that they were both oppressed by their parents, he wouldn't have bothered with all this effort.
"Watch... I'll only do it once!" Xiao Huzi put down his brush, swallowed hard, and made up his mind.
His body suddenly stiffened, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud, his whole body beginning to convulse.
Meng Anci was startled and sat up abruptly. He and Wu Shaoyang exchanged a glance, their faces both showing a mixture of emotions, and just watched Xiao Huzi perform.
As soon as Jin Shanyao stepped into the backyard, she saw Xiao Huzi lying on the ground, making a six with his left hand and a seven with his right, drool dripping from his mouth, and struggling to hook Meng Anci's trouser leg.
He mumbled incoherently, "Brother Anci... help, help me..."
Jin Shanyao her head and made a buzzing sound. She quickly stepped forward, picked him up, and immediately began to check his body. Xiao Huzi was convulsing and grabbed Jin Shanyao's wrist.
"Aunt... Aunt... I'm going to die. Before I die, can you help me finish my homework?" Before he could finish speaking, Jin Shanyao pinned him to her knees and started hitting his buttocks.
"I'll teach you to fake illness to scare people, I'll teach you to make a six with your left hand and a seven with your right..."
Xiao Huzi screamed and thrashed about as he was hit, "Auntie, I was wrong... Next time I'll show two with my left hand and three with my right..."
"Still dare to talk back... I'll teach you a lesson today."
Meng Anci hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Jin Shanyao's arm, "Auntie, this is someone else's child, you can't hit him..."
Xiao Huzi, clutching his bottom, hid behind Meng Anci, peeking out and softly saying, "Others can't hit me... but Auntie can."
Meng Anci stared at Xiao Huzi in shock. "I was just standing up for you, and now you're pretending to be a good guy." For some reason, he also wanted to beat Xiao Huzi up.
Wu Shaoyang stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long time... He had lived for fifteen years and never imagined he would do his parents such a disservice.
But he wasn't Xiao Huzi after all; he couldn't just ignore everything.
" Shopkeeper Jin," Wu Shaoyang said dejectedly, "It's getting late, I have to go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. The second bowl of medicine... I'll come back this afternoon."
After saying this, he walked out of the courtyard gate. Xiao Huzi shook his head and sighed, "What a waste of time teaching me..." Then he took out a coin, held up his notebook, and asked, "Auntie, can you help me calculate how much this problem is?"
Wu Shaoyang arrived at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, but Miss Miao hadn't arrived yet. He sat by the window, gazing at the street corner. Just as he was lost in thought, someone knocked on the table.
Looking up, I saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was dressed in red, with the cuffs tied tightly with thin ropes. Her hair was tied in a bun at the back of her head, and she looked very capable.
" Wu Shaoyang?"
Upon hearing her call out his name, Wu Shaoyang stood up and bowed, "Greetings, Miss Miao."
Miao Shuihua looked him up and down. The young man was handsome and had delicate features... unlike the rough men on the dock. Miao Shuihua had a good impression of him.
" Young Master Wu, please sit down..." Miao Shuihua said, then sat down first, called the waiter to bring a pot of hot tea, and personally poured a full cup for Wu Shaoyang.
Watching her busy herself, Wu Shaoyang spoke up at the opportune moment, "Miss... I'm being forced to come on this blind date by my family."
Miao Shuihua put down the teapot and smiled, "You have a girl you like?"
"No."
So you like men?
These words startled Wu Shaoyang, who hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no, I don't like men."